At Carrefour Dubai, basically the most attention-grabbing hypermarket within the UAE – one of many wealthiest countries within the Middle East – it was once noticed that “PRAN” was once prominently written in Bangla on a juice packet.
PRAN’s logo also looks on a huge assortment of merchandise, along side sauces, flattened rice, spices, noodles, chocolate, biscuits, frozen fish, oil, honey, coconut water, and bottled water.
Ashish Kumar, a sales workers member on the superstore, told The Industry Popular that a comely portion of the food merchandise equipped at Carrefour comes from PRAN Team of Bangladesh.
“Now we have gotten about 150 PRAN merchandise in our stores. These items are on hand in over 80 Carrefour stores all the absolute most sensible arrangement through the United Arab Emirates. Along with Bangladeshis, expatriates from India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan also buy these merchandise,” he added.
He also mentioned that many native consumers are if truth be told purchasing these merchandise as smartly.
Mizanur Rahman, executive director (Export) at PRAN-RFL Team, told TBS, “PRAN has obtained an overwhelming response by catering to the tastes of native customers. For this reason we’ve expanded beyond merchandise exported entirely from Bangladesh. Per person ask, we offer merchandise from native and subcontinental countries, kit them, and market them accordingly. As a result, PRAN is recognised as a subcontinental imprint exterior of Bangladesh.”
Citing an example, he acknowledged, “Pakistani flour is amazingly standard and with out disaster on hand in Dubai, so we offer it from Pakistan. Since the export of rice from Bangladesh is against the law, we procure it from one other country. We also offer frozen fish from Arab nations and neighbouring countries.”
PRAN’s merchandise are on hand in predominant chain stores much like Carrefour, Nesto, Lulu, and On daily basis Mall, as smartly as in a comely assortment of traditional stores all the absolute most sensible arrangement through Dubai. In Ajman, PRAN operates a huge 94 lakh sq.-foot warehouse with rows of autos. In accordance with PRAN officials, their merchandise are kept here after contract manufacturing at Imaging World’s native manufacturing facility. Additionally they defend a warehouse in Dubai.
Officers at PRAN-RFL Team in Bangladesh disclose PRAN merchandise are on hand in as regards to all predominant stores all the absolute most sensible arrangement through the UAE, along side in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. Over the final year, PRAN has equipped approximately $265 million (identical to around Tk3,000 crore) price of merchandise within the oil-affluent.
PRAN has established a substantial presence within the UAE in much less than twenty years, having begun exporting to the space in 2007. In the origin concerned with Dubai, the firm now operates around 400 lined trucks, supplying merchandise all the absolute most sensible arrangement through the total UAE. Extra than 1,000 workers are appealing in regards to the import and distribution of merchandise within the country. Moreover, PRAN has a lot of comely-scale packaging and warehouse companies and products, spanning hundreds and hundreds of sq. toes in both Dubai and Ajman.
Moreover to exporting from Bangladesh, PRAN sources and concepts merchandise from neighbouring regions, along side the UAE, and sells them beneath its imprint establish.
Kamruzzaman Kamal, director (Advertising and marketing) at PRAN-RFL, told TBS, “PRAN has a presence in additional than 145 countries, along side the UAE. In the origin, our enterprise was once entirely export-dependent, however that has changed. Now, we offer merchandise to native customers through manufacturing and packaging internal their respective countries.”
“At yell, we have interaction in contract manufacturing in countries much like India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Now we have gotten remodeled PRAN into a local imprint by appealing the other folks of these countries in production and advertising,” he added.
Five factories in India
In cities love Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, and Agartala in India, PRAN Team’s merchandise from Bangladesh – along side chanachur, candies, drinks, chips, and biscuits – are broadly on hand in almost all retail stores. PRAN merchandise are also yell in varied fairly about a states, along side Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, and Bihar, where Indians are appealing about production and advertising.
In accordance with PRAN officials, their merchandise are at yell on hand in 28 states all the absolute most sensible arrangement through India, with annual sales of around $60 million (identical to Tk700-750 crore). A majority of these merchandise are if truth be told sourced, packaged, and manufactured within the neighborhood in India.
PRAN on the initiating started exporting merchandise from its Bangladeshi factories to India in 1997, however on the present time, native sourcing has change into the core of its enterprise strategy within the country.
Kamruzzaman Kamal acknowledged, “Our strategy is to have interaction the native inhabitants in each and every country or space by integrating them into our team. This helps radically change our merchandise into their very dangle. In India, our native team creates commercials in Indian and Nepali languages, airing them on TV, which has made our merchandise regional producers. Step by step, we’ve started producing merchandise utilizing within the neighborhood sourced substances, appealing locals through contract farming.”
In an interview with TBS, PRAN-RFL Team Chairman Ahsan Khan shared, “We emphasise native sourcing for sustainable enterprise. Our purpose is to establish factories where wheat and rice production is abundant.”
He explained, “At yell, now we have 5 factories in India, with strong positions in Northeast India, Kolkata, and Siliguri, and we’re also manufacturing in Bangalore. Our imaginative and prescient is to establish a PRAN presence in every allege of India.”
Moreover, Ahsan Khan mentioned that PRAN has contractual manufacturing arrangements in Nepal and plans to situation up a manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia later this year. The firm will likely be brooding about establishing a juice manufacturing facility in Nigeria.
Local manufacturing to set remote from non-tariff barriers
In some countries, non-tariff barriers are imposed to promote home alternate, and restrictions on advertising international merchandise ceaselessly bog down enterprise expansion. To beat these challenges, PRAN started establishing partnerships with native companies in varied countries.
Kamruzzaman Kamal explained, “We initiated efforts to have locals in enterprise expansion in 2010, concentrating on Asian markets much like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. PRAN first collaborated with procuring and selling companions in these countries, making sure smoother alternate and elevated acceptance of our merchandise in native markets.”
He added, “We then started contract manufacturing with native companies, producing PRAN-branded merchandise in their factories. This not simplest helped web rid of non-tariff barriers however also vastly boosted enterprise utter.”
What started as a contract manufacturing initiative in India has now expanded to on the least 10 countries.
PRAN-RFL is a main firm in Bangladesh’s processed food alternate and repeatedly holds the tip space in export of these merchandise.
PRAN first entered the export market in 1997, transport items to France, where the preliminary purpose customers were basically expatriate Bangladeshis.
On the present time, PRAN exports to 147 countries worldwide. In the fiscal 2023-24, the firm exported merchandise price approximately $377 million.
